pero slavnic, a former major in the bosnian serb army, is campaigning for better benefits and pensions for military veterans. financial hardship contributed to his divorce. three of his sons are unemployed. and he is weary of politicians manipulating public opinion. >> ( translated ): i think we are now further away from being together without borders than just after the war. when foundations are flawed, you become skeptical about everything, including the hand that reaches for you from the other side. we are constantly asking is this an honest hand? we have a lot of problems in the area of trust. >> reporter: this was the perfect occasion for the bosnian serb leader milorad dodik to address the issue of reconciliation. of all the dignitaries present, his words would have been most significant. because for many muslims, banja luka represents the lion's den. he was due to make a key note speech,but he clearly didn't like the tone of this event and he elected not to speak. so to find out what he thought, we headed past the glittering serb orthodox church to the presidential palace of the